The Latest News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 5, 2010

Board Vacancy: La Pine Parks & Recreation District
La Pine, Oregon - The La Pine Parks & Recreation Board is in need of your help to set the policy for parks and recreation services in La Pine. This is an unpaid, volunteer position. The time commitment is roughly 10 to 15 hours a month, including monthly meetings every 1st and 3rd Monday and committee work as scheduled. If you would like to apply, please submit a cover letter and resume outlining your experience as it relates to parks and recreation or governing boards, to LPRD, PO BOX 664, La Pine OR, 97739 or drop it off at the District office at 16405 1st St (across the parking lot from the Library). If you would like more information please contact Justin Cutler, Director of Parks & Recreation at 541.536.2223. The application deadline is March 12th.

Background:
The La Pine Parks & Recreation District serves an 85 square mile area in southern Deschutes County and recently received voter approval to assess property taxes to help operate the District. The service population is approximately 15,000 people. The annual budget of the District is just over $200,000. The District operates a campground, a community park, two meeting rooms, office space, a community center and several underdeveloped parcels of land. The District will be establishing youth, adult and senior recreation programs in the coming months.

For more information:
Justin Cutler, Director of Parks & Recreation
T. 541.536.2223
E. justin.cutler@lapineparks.org
W. www.lapineparks.org

 

La Pine Park & Recreation receives $3,000 security grant to upgrade locks and entry systems

LA PINE, OR., February 19, 2010 — Special District Association of Oregon announced a $3,000 award on February 19, 2010 to the La Pine Park & Recreation District for security upgrades.  LPRD will use the funds to update doors and locks at Finely Butte, Johnson C. Johnson Center and the White School Building.  The improvements are part of a District effort to reduce the number of keys in the community and provide better access control measures for facility rental groups.  The new doors and locks will include a key less entry system with manual back ups to control access and provide an audit trail of users.  Installation of the new system will take place during the spring and summer of 2010.

Background:
The La Pine Parks & Recreation District serves an 85 square mile area in southern Deschutes County and recently received voter approval to assess property taxes to help operate the District.  The service population is approximately 15,000 people.  The annual budget of the District is just over $200,000.  The District operates a campground, a community park, two meeting rooms, office space, a community center and several underdeveloped parcels of land.  The District will be establishing youth, adult and senior recreation programs in the coming months.

For more information:
Justin Cutler, Director of Parks & Recreation
T.  541.536.2223
E.  justin.cutler@lapineparks.org

W.  www.lapineparks.org

 

La Pine Park & Recreation District Announces its Choice for Director of Parks & Recreation
December 10, 2009

La Pine Park and Recreation District announced its choice for Director at its regular board meeting Monday night, December 7, 2009. Justin Cutler of Portland, Oregon was chosen from over 50 applicants. The District received applications from as far away as Iowa. The new director is expected to begin his duties on January 4, 2010.

A community meet and greet is planned for sometime in January.

 

"Congratulations! It's no easy task to find the right person to fill such a position. I know a lot of work, time, due dilligence, and approptiate consideration went into this selection, and I look forward to meeting the new Parks Director!

My Best to All,

Kitty Shields
Mayor, City of La Pine"

 

La Pine Park and Recreation District Thanks You!
June 1, 2009

The LPRD board of directors would like to thank La Pine Park and Recreation District residents for your support on Measure 9-71 providing stable funding to the District for the first time in its 20-year history! They would also like to take this opportunity to thank the many volunteers who made this possible and who worked tirelessly to educate the public about the measure and the benefits of a functioning and funded park district.

This funding will allow the District to hire staff, maintain facilities and develop Park programs. The board of directors will continue to be an entirely volunteer board.

We look forward to the future, and encourage the citizens of the district to attend a meeting and let us know what is important to you.

 

September 17, 2009, Take Five, KBND

Click here

 

Wyden Introduces Bill for La Pine Land Deal
Published: May 22, 2009 Bend Bulletin

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., on Thursday introduced a bill that would allow the transfer of two land parcels from the Bureau of Land Management to Deschutes County.

The bill, called the La Pine Land Conveyance Act, would transfer 320 acres on the western edge of La Pine city limits to Deschutes County for the development of rodeo and equestrian facilities, as well as public parks and other recreation facilities. The facilities would be used for the city’s Frontier Days, an event currently held on private property slated for development.

The bill also would transfer 750 acres of BLM land to Deschutes County to expand La Pine’s wastewater treatment program. The land would allow the city’s sewer system to expand and would move the wastewater treatment facility to a new location that would avoid further threats to the groundwater.

 

La Pine Permanent Funding is Successful on Sixth Try
By Scott Hammers / The Bulletin
Published: May 20. 2009

Measure 9-71: Authorizes 30 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value as a permanent tax rate limit beginning 2009-10.
Passed Yes: 1,486 • No: 1,269
Results as of 11 p.m.


After six attempts, the La Pine Park and Recreation District has finally persuaded voters to open their wallets.

As of 11 p.m. Tuesday, the measure to approve a permanent funding base for the park district was passing with 54 percent of the vote.

Created in 1990 without a source of funding, the park district has put a funding request on ballots five times without success. In November, a funding request identical to the one approved Tuesday was turned down with 55 percent of voters voting no.

“We’re celebrating right now,” said Tony DeBone, chairman of the park district board of directors. “I don’t know that you can talk me out of it at this point until you show me bad numbers.”

The new funding base will enable the park district to collect a permanent property tax of 30 cents per $1,000 in assessed value, or $30 for a home assessed at $100,000. In the first year, the measure would raise an estimated $165,000. DeBone said the funds would allow the district to hire its first paid staff and begin needed capital improvements.

Rex Lesueur, the chairman of the La Pine Park and Recreation Political Action Committee, said supporters took a different approach to the campaign this time around.

Lesueur said that rather than attempting to sway the nearly 3,000 voters who voted against the November funding request, they decided to focus on the more than 2,400 people who had voted yes. With few items on the ballot, the campaign anticipated low voter turnout, Lesueur said, where a small group of committed supporters could be the difference between a win and a loss.

“Knowing this was an off-election, our goal was to find as many supporters as we could, and get them to vote,” he said.

The campaign gathered more than 400 phone numbers representing an estimated 700 voters, Lesueur said, and called all of them twice with an automated dialing system in the weeks leading up to the election.

With the measure hanging on to a lead of less than 100 votes around 9 p.m. Tuesday, DeBone said he expected good news this morning.

“Our goal was 2,000 (yes votes). So far we’re at 900-something, I don’t know if we’ll see 2,000, but that was the plan.

Kathy DeBone, wife of Tony DeBone, said turnout would likely play a key role in the ultimate outcome. In the November election, 80.4 percent of voters within the park district cast a ballot. Final figures were not available Tuesday night, but turnout appeared to be around 40 percent.

 

La Pine Park & Recreation District Looking for Volunteers
February 3, 2009

Position #1: Your La Pine Park & Recreation District is looking for a volunteer who can either attend meetings twice per month and take minutes or transcribe minutes twice per month from an audio file from home. Minutes will need to by typed and saved as a word document before the next meeting for director approval. The document will then be posted to the website by another volunteer.

This is a non-paid position. If you are interested in this position please attend an LPRD board meeting. The meetings are every 1st and 3rd Monday of each month at the John C. Johnson Building at 16405 First Street in La PIne. Position is open immediately.

Position #2: Your La Pine Park & Recreation District is looking for applicants to join its board of directors. There is one position open immediately (by appointment until June 30, 2009) and two positions available beginning July 1, 2009. These two positions are elected positions and you must file with the County Clerks office no later than March 19, 2009 to run in the May 19, 2009 Election.

This is a non-paid position. If you are interested in this position please plan to attend an LPRD board meeting. The meetings are every 1st and 3rd Monday of each month at the John C. Johnson Building at 16405 First Street in La PIne. Please see the website at http://www.lapineparks.org for more information.

 

 

LPRD Thanks Community of La Pine
February 3, 2009

By Your La Pine Park & Recreation District

La Pine Park & Recreation District Board of Directors took a time-out from their meeting on Monday to take a picture and to thank the community once again for stepping up and getting the $11,039 insurance bill paid before the December 31, 2008 deadline.

Businesses, organizations and individuals such as SCOOTR, COAR, The High Lakes Car Club, David Hazeltine in Memory of Caroline Hazeltine, Little Deschutes Grange #939, Rebound Physical Therapy, Bancorp Insurance, La Pine Sewer District, La Pine Water District, Living Word Church, La Pine Volunteer Firefighters and Fire Fighters Union and numerous families and individuals made contributions toward the past due insurance bill.

Photo by Kathy DeBone

From left to right:

Directors Sam Bachman, Tony DeBone, Keith Rasmussen, Pat Rongey and Bob Metcalf.

 

PRESS RELEASE: January 6, 2009
La Pine Park and Recreation District

LPRD Processed Cans Stolen from Storage Shed

As many as 80 bags of processed refundable cans and plastic bottles were taken by an unknown party from the storage shed at LPRD White School Park Building. The theft occurred between December 24 and January 3, when the cans were discovered missing. The cans represent two months of donations and were sorted by volunteers on November 2 and December 6, 2008.

The value of the missing cans is estimated at $1,600.

Please call the Deschutes County Sheriffs Department if you have any information about who took the cans.

Contacts:
Tony DeBone: LPRD Chair 541-536-1079 or 541-771-8725
Gretchen Herdrich: Central Oregon Beverage Recyclers 541-607-2050

 

December 22, 2008

La Pine Park & Recreation District Receives a Christmas Wish from the
CENTRAL OREGON ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS

La Pine Park & Recreation District received a $1,500 donation from CENTRAL OREGON ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS today. This donation marks the first that will be paid toward the 2009 insurance premium. The district expects to receive that $6,000 bill next week.

The following organizations have made donations to assist paying the past due 2008 premiums of $11,039:

S.C.O.O.T.R. - South Central Oregon Outreach Toy Run, Inc.

High Lakes Car Club

David Hazeltine "In Memory of Caroline Hazeltine"

Little Deschutes Grange #939

La Pine Volunteer FireFighters and Fire Fighters Union

BANCORP Insurance

Living Word Church

Rebound Physical Therapy

La Pine Water District

La Pine Sewer District

...and all of the local families who donated toward the insurance premium!

 

In other LPRD Matters:

The Board of County Commissioners recently granted $8,637 to assist with building repairs at the WSPB to bring it up to code. A total of $13,637 was granted to LPRD by Deschutes County in 2008 for this project. The district is still running short by $8000 to complete the project. An alarm system needs to be installed to meet county standards. Currently the White School Park Building is closed for the winter months due to the high cost of heating.



Press Release 12/2/08

Tough issues were on the agenda at La Pine Park and Recreation District’s regular meeting on Monday, December 1, 2008.

Decisions such as what buildings and programs to close and how to pay the outstanding insurance bill were among the tasks.

The district has faced many issues over the past five months; each one has been handled carefully as the district does not have stable funding.

The board struggled with the decision to cancel the 2009 Basketball program for kids age 5-12 years old. The decision was also made to close both the White School Park Building and the Finley Butte Building at least for the winter. Tenants such as Weight Watchers and AA will be moved to the John C Johnson Building as of January 1, 2009. At the November 17, 2008 meeting, decisions were made to turn off the telephone and internet service.

The District was, however, able to secure a substantial donation toward the balance of the insurance bill (approximately $8,600) thanks to SCOOTR (South Central Oregon Outreach Toy Run) an organization based in La Pine formed solely for the purpose of providing assistance to children and benefiting the community. Members graciously made a donation to La Pine Park & Recreation District of $2,000 on behalf of the children of the La Pine area. SCOOTR spends $20,000 each Christmas for clothes and toys for needy kids in the South County area.

Other organizations have made contributions to LPRD to fund such items as improvements to the White School Park Building, programs, and insurance payments. In 2008, the Board of County Commissioners donated over $18,000. La Pine Frontier Days chairwoman Ann Gawith challenges other organizations to match LFDA’s donation of $2,000 to help with operating costs until sustainable funding can be secured.

Donations may be made at Community First Bank. LPRD recommends a donation of $30 per family, which is what the annual tax rate would have cost if it had passed in November.

Contacts:

Tony DeBone, LPRD Chair, 771-8725, www.lapineparks.org
Ann Gawith, Frontier Days, 419-4845, www.lapinefrontierdays.org
Denise Hatch, SCOOTR, 536-2644, www.scootr.org
Shana Carpenter, La Pine Park & Recreation PAC, 280-0598

 

Press Release 10/13/08
La Pine Park & Recreation PAC

La Pine Park & Recreation Tackle Football Teams Will Play "Under the Lights!"

Approximately 100 La Pine area kids ages 7 to 12 years old participated in La Pine Park & Recreation Flag and Tackle Football Program this 2008 season which ran from August and will continue through October.

"This season brought out the best group of volunteer coaches for the program I have ever seen," said volunteer LPRD Football program Director, Dave Kerr, Jr. "They have done a fantastic job relating to the kids, teaching proper principles and team work and they are great examples in our community. The program was made possible due to the generosity of many of our area businesses, dedicated parents and volunteers, and the La Pine Park & Recreation District."

One of the highlights for the kids is to play a night game in front of a crowd "under the lights" at the La Pine High School Football Field. This years program features for the first time ever the La Pine Park and Recreation Championship Play Offs. The games will take place at the La Pine High Football field on Friday, October 24 beginning at 6 pm. Everyone is encouraged to attend to show support for our local kids and appreciation to the local businesses and volunteers who supported them.

For more information, visit http://www.lapineparks.org/sports.html

Contacts:
Dave Kerr 408-6112 (Volunteer Football Program Director)
Sam Bachman 536-1504 or 419-2594 (Volunteer Tackle Football Coach & LPRD Board of Directors)
Shana Carpenter 536-6122 or 280-0598 (La Pine Park & Recreation District PAC)

10/03/08: Since the end of July, La Pine Park and Recreation Districts financial problems have escalated. On July 23, 2008, the district received a certified letter from the Deschutes County Community Development Department stating multiple code violations on the White School Park Building. Requirements regarding everything from electrical issues to an installed alarm system are needed to bring the building up to code. Even with the help of Deschutes County Commissioner Dennis Luke's $5,000 donation, a contribution from Frontier Days Association of $2,000, the District is facing over $15,000 in debt to complete the project.

The newest development is the issue of the cancellation letter received by La Pine Park and Recreation Districts insurance company on October 2, 2008. The letter states that unless the balance due of $11,039 is not received by December 31, 2008, the insurance policy will not be renewed in 2009.

This financial challenge comes at a time when volunteers are working diligently to encourage voters to pass a small tax base to sustain the district. The measure, (9-59) asks property owners for a tax rate of .30/$1000 of assessed value. Studies show that 76.5 % of all properties in the district are assessed at $100,000 or less making the tax $30.00 per year or less.

 

July 22, 2008: La Pine Park & Recreation District Makes Decision About Future Facility Use & Community Programs

At the regular meeting on July 21, 2008 the board was asked about their long term plan in the event the tax base measure fails. Board members unanimously agreed all facilities and programs would close on January 1, 2009 until sustainable funding can be secured.

This closure effects the use of White School Park Building and grounds, Finley Butte Community Park & Building, and Rosland Campground. All programs will cease, including youth sports such as basketball, soccer and football. Organizations that use LPRD facilities will also be affected.

The John C. Johnson Building would be unaffected at this time and would be the only available LPRD facility the community could book for public meetings and events.

La Pine Parks & Recreation Special District serves an 85 square mile area in Southern Deschutes County. LPRD is one of few unfunded special districts in the State of Oregon, it operates by volunteerism, grants and donations. The park currently generates funds by its facility rentals, and programs. The District processes pop cans donated by the community to help pay for insurance and utility costs.

The LPRD Board of Directors made the decision at its July 7, 2008 Board Meeting to pursue a tax base in the November election after reviewing public input. A home assessed at $100,000 would cost the tax payer at most approximately $30.00 per year based on .30 per $1000.

The tax base, if passed, will generate operating funds to hire 2 to 3 full time staff to handle daily operations, maintain facilities, create programs, coordinate volunteers and focus on grants and other fundraisers. The Park District hopes to begin implementing the Comprehensive Plan, adopted in 2005, which includes a new skate park at Finley Butte Park, a basketball court at White School and a trail system and picnic areas at Rosland Campground. The plan also includes an indoor swimming pool which the board feels cannot be pursued without sustainable funding.